Structural element



April 17, 1951 H. c. FISCHER ET AL STRUCTURAL ELEMENT Filed May 3, 1946 INVENTORS HERBERT C. F /SCHER BY L MN H W. //L//vs Patented Apr. 17, 1951 OFFICE STRUCTURAL ELEMENT Herbert C. Fischer, Wellesley Hills, and Allan H. W. Higgins, Boston, Mass.

Application May 3, 1946, Serial No. 667,169

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to structural building elements and is more particularly concerned with an auxiliary structural element which may be attached to fianged structural members, such as load-bearing I-beams or channels, to permit other building elements to be secured thereto by driven fasteners.

In the use of structural 'steel shapes in the construction of buildings, ships and other structures, it is frequently desirable that collateral parts of the structure, such, for example, as trim, chair rail, picture molding, fiooring and the like, be fastened to the load-bearing structural members by driven fasteners, such as nails or screws. The present invention has as an object to provide a light, inexpensive auxiliary structural member of a form which may be readily connected during the course of construction to fianged structural member not ordinarily capable of receiving and holding nails to permit other parts of the structure to be nailed to these members. A further object of the nvention is to provide an auxiliary nailing clip or strip of the Character referred to which may be used with fianged metallc nailing strips to provide when required additional lines of nailing so that the collateral structural member may be fastened at spaced points, such as on both sides of a butt joint.

The invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment and from the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a part of a building structure embodying the auxiilary structural element of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the auxiliary structural element.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an end view showing a modification, and

Fig. 5 is a detail end view showing another modification.

Referring to Fig. 2, the auxiliary building element selected for purposes of illustration is shown detached from the associated structure with which it is used. The element may be formed from strip stock of a suitable gauge by cold rolling or other forming procedure appropriate to the material of which the stock is formed. We presently prefer metal as the material from which the elements are formed and will refer tometal in describing the element herein, but

it is understood that it is not intended thereby to exclude other materials, such as plastic compositions, for example. The element comprisres a central portion 2, which is so shaped that its upper face is relatively fiat and free of projecting parts. The lower face 6 of the central portion 2 is also 'fiat and forms a bearing surface which may rest on the flange of the main structural member with which the element is to be used. The central portion 2 may be provided with one or more apertures 3.

At one sideV of the central portion '2 the metal of the element is so shaped as to form a dependng 'lip 8. As shown, this lip is vCurved 'sharply below the central portion to 'embrace the edge of the fiange to which the element is to be securecl. At the oppo'site side of' the central portion 2 the metal is bent downwardly and then bent reversely upwardly to form a depending fastener-receiving projection indicated generally at I. The lowermost part of the projecton ll) is shaped to provide a tubular wall E2 for a purpose which will be described hereinafter.

Beyond the projection IO, the metal stock again bends generally into the plane of the central portion 2 to provide an extension M. Preferably the extension 14 is relatively narrow and 'extends beyond the fastener-receiving projection Hl for a distance which may be roughly of the order of one-half the width of the central portion 2.

The spaced walls of the portion IH) are deformed, preferably by appropriately shaped rols during the forming operation, to present a series of ribs IS, struck inwardly from the metal, lea ing depressions 18 therebetween. The conformation of this part of the element can be seen more clearly in Fig. 3, from which it will be seen that the depressionsa-IB between the ribs [6 are relatively wide at their upper ends adjacentthe central portion of the element, but are constricted at points more remote from the central portion. The upper ends of the ribs IB are preferably sharp-pointed and taper downwardly gradually to their full width as shown in Fig. 2. The ribs IB are curved transversely of their length, as shown.

The function of the projection Ill is to receive and hold driven fasteners. The fasteners, such as the nail i 9 shown in Fig. 2, enter the auxiliary element from above. ends of the ribs |6 and the relatively wide space between the ribs at their upper ends, the point of the entering nail will either directly enter one of the grooves I 8 or will be defiected to Due to the sharp upper other fianged structural shapes.

enter the groove. As the nail is driven downwardly it is bent to follow the curvature of the ribs IG so that it is securely held in its final position by the ribs. Should a nail be longer than the ribs |6 it will strike the bottom wall of the tubular portion |2 and be deflected sidewise, as indicated in dotted lines at 20 in Fig. 2. If desired, the ribs IG may be omitted from one of the walls of the fastener-holding projection IO. The resulting plane-faced wall Will then cooperate with the ribs on the opposing wall to form fastener-receiving and holding voids.

Fig. illustrates a modified Variation wherein the side walls forming the nail-receiving and holding projection Ina are shaped at their upper ends adjacent the central portion 2a and the 'projection [4a to diverge sharply, as ,indicated at and |3. This arrangement of the walls li and [3 serves to provide an area of greater width over which nails driven toward the auxiliary structural lmember will be deflected and received in the nail-holding projection lila. The element of Fig. 5 is inother respects similar to that shown in Fig. 2. Its projection lila is provided with ribs |6a and with a tubular portion 12a.

The aux-iliary structural element may be formed of such a material or of such a gauge that it will be slightly springy. Thus, when the lip .8 has been caught over the edge of a flange the entireelement may be swung about the edge of the fiange and forced home on the fiange with the fiat bearing surface 5 seated Von the fiange. In this movement the projection IO may bend slightly as it moves past the opposite edge of the flange and when the element is in its final position Will engage the fiange with a resilient pressure and serve to hold 'the element in place.

The inner wall of the projection IO may be provided With a small protuberance 2| to aid in holding the element in place on the flange of the i prinoipal Vstructural member with which it `is used. The protuberances 2| may be struck out of the metal of the inner wall of the projection Ill, either during the rolling operation in which the ribs IB vare formed or after the rolled strip hasbeen severed into lengths. When the element is placed on the fiange of the principal structural member, the protubrances 2| spring past the edge of the flange and thereafter serve to hold the fiat surface 6 against the flat face of the fiange.

.Fig. 4 illustrates a modification in which the lip 8 is replaced by a depending fastener-holding projection illb and an extension 14h similar to the projection Ill and extension |4, of the element shown in Fig. 2. The structural element of Fig. 4 is symmetrical about a mid-plane parallel to the walls of the two fas'tener-holding projections. This element will be applied to a fianged 'structural member by seating its lower face .6b fiat against the flange 23, of the member, with the two fastener-holding projecti'ons lflb extending beyond the two edges of the fiange 23. One or both of the projections [0b of this modification may be provided with protuberances like the protuberances 2| of the clip of Fig. 2, if desired.

It will be appreciated that the auxiliary element will be made in various sizes for use with the various standard size I-beams, channels, and The size and relative spacing-of the ribs I6 also may be varied, independently of the variations in other dimensions of the structural element, to accommodate nails of different sizes.

The auxiliary element may be formed in relatively long lengths. For example, the element may be formed in lengths appropriate to cover the entire length of the upper chord of a joist or a rafter to provide a line of nailing at one or both sides of the joist or rafter along its entire length. Ordinarily, in fabricating the auxiliary structural element, it will be most convenient to first form a long length by cold rolling strip stock. Thereafter, the length may be severed into a number of individual clips like that shown in Fig. 2, or into individual pieces of greater length than that shown.

The manner in which the auxiliary element is employed is illustrated in Fig. 1. In this figure, the auxiliary element is shown as employed with fianged nailing strips 24, although it will be understood that the element is equally useful With the conventional solid fianged I-beam or channel or with other fianged members. The fianged 'nailing strip 24 comprises two channels, 26 and 28, vdisposed back to back With their webs secured together by welding at spaced spots along their length. The webs of the channels are each provided with alternating ribs 30 and grooves 32, generally similar in form to the ribs and grooves 16, [8, of the auxiliary element itself. In the instance illustrated, the members 24 are employed as joists to support planking 01' fiooring 34, and the members 24 allow the woo'den sleepers ordinarily employed with steel joists to be dispensed with and permit the planking or fiooring 34 to be spiked or nailed directly to the underlying joists 24. If in the course of laying the planking 34 it should be found desirable to drive a nail or spike slightly off the line of nailing provided by the members 24, one of the auxiliary elements of the present invention may be slipped over the fiange of the member 24 at that point.

For example, if a butt joint between the ends of two planks or fiooring boards 38 and 40 lying in extension of each other is to be placed over one of the joists, it is desirable that both ends, at opposite sides of the joint, should be nailed down to the underlying support. The nailing strips 24 provide only a single line of nailing which does not permit this to be done. In this case, as shown at the left in Fig. 1, one of the auxiliary structural elements may be slipped over the upper chord of the joist 24. When an ele- 'ment of the type shown in Fig. 2 is used, it is placed with its lip 8 embracing one edge of the flange and its bearing surface 5 seated at on the flange. The apertures 3 are positioned in the central portion 2 of the auxiliary element at the proper location to expose the nail-receiving opening in the nailing strip 24. Then, the end 31 of one plank 38 may be secured by nails 38 which pass downwardly through the apertures 3 and pass between a pair of ribs 30 on the member 24. The abutting end 4! of the other plank 40 may then be placed so that 'it covers the projection |4 and a part of the central portion 2 and then secured by nails 42 which are received and held by the projection I 0.

The auxiliary element may be placed with the lip 8 or either side of the flange of the members 24 and some of them may be placed With the lip on one side and others placed with the lip on the other side to break joints," or for other reasons, if desired, as illustrated by the arrangement of the three auxiliary elements on the lefthand joist 24 in Fig. l.

When an auxiliary element of the type shown in Fig. 4 -is used, it is placed with its under-face 6b seated on the flat face of the flange and the nail-holding projections IOb extending below the fiange at each side, as shown at the right in Fig. 1. In this case, the projections lub provide two lines of nailing, one at each side of the flange, by means of which both of the plank ends forming a butt joint may be nailed down. The apertures 3 may be omitted if desired.

It will be understood that planking which does not end over a joist will be nailed directly to the members 24 by nails 46 without the use of an auxiliary clip. The nails 38 cooperate with the protuberances 2|, When these latter are present, in holding the auxiliary element tight against the joist 24.

The auxiliary members may be used in the same manner with structural building elements which have solid fianges, such as load-bearing beams, girders, rafters, joists, studs, and the like, to provide nailing points as they may be found to be needed in the course of construction.

We claim:

A structural element comprising a pair of REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 20 1.804,452 Barton May 12, 1931 1.964.403 Loucks June'z, 1934 2,062,843 Strand Dec. 1, 1936 2,328,441 Fischer et al Aug. 31, 1943 

